CHAP. XLVII. Of the fall of Adam. (Book 47)
THE fall of Adam was the death of himself, the death of us, and the death of* 1.1 Christ. At his fall were three offenders, three offences, and persons offended. Three offenders, Satan, Adam, Eve: three offences, Ignorance, weakness, and malice: three persons offended, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Eve sinned of Ignorance, and so sinned against the Son, the God of knowledge, and she was forgiven; and so S. Paul sinned, and was forgiven, 1 Tim. 1. 13. Adam sinned of weakness, and so sinned against the Father, the God of power, and he was pardoned; and so S. Peter sinned, and he was pardoned, Matth. 26. But Satan sinned of set malice, and so sinned against the Holy Ghost, the God of love, and he was not forgiven: For he that speaketh against the Holy Ghost, shall never be forgiven, Mark 3. 29. And in Gods censuring of these three, Gen. 3. He questioneth Adam and Evah before he sentenceth, because he had mercy for them, nay more, he promiseth Christ before he inflict punishment: but for the Serpent, he never questioned, because he would shew him no mercy. God left Adam to his own free-will, and suffered him to fall, quia sciebat se, &c. because he knew how to turn that fall of his, to his salvation. When Lazarus died, Christ was not there, that the raising of Lazarus by Christ might be the more glorious; So when Adam fell (as I may say so) God would not be there (for he left Adam to his own free-will) that the repairing of Adam through Christ might be the more glorious. Hereupon one sings, O foelix lapsus. Unhappy was the fall of Adam, since by his fall we all fell, but yet happy was that un∣happy fall, since it must be recured by Christ. Joseph suffered his brother Simeon to go into prison for a while, that at last he might bring him out with greater comfort. So God suffered Adam to go into Satans Newgate for a while, that at last he might bring him out with greater comfort. The day thou eatest hereof thou shalt dye, there is the pri∣son; And the man took and eat, there Adam goes into prison: The seed of the woman shall break the head of the Serpent, there Joseph delivers Simeon out of prison, God brings man out of Hell through Christ. Whereupon a Doctor in admiration, questions, utrum mirabilius, homines justos creare, an injustos justificare: whether is more admirable, that God created man righteous, or that he justified man, when he had made himself unrigh∣teous? Whether was more miraculous, for God to make man of nothing, or to repair him from worse than nothing? Wonderful he was in both, in his first and his second creation, for Justificatio est secunda hominis creatio, mans Justification is his new creation.